PAULA POUNDSTONE Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

·1 hr 44 min·5 clips

Comedian Paula Poundstone describes her tech panic during a pandemic audition, interrupted by her ten cats demanding food.

The episode begins with technical difficulties, setting a relatable tone for pandemic-era struggles. Paula Poundstone shares her frustration with self-tape auditions, interrupted by her ten cats demanding food at 3 PM. She reveals she uses a flip phone, making texting arduous, and connects this to a discussion about QAnon's coded messages. Poundstone details her return to touring post-COVID, including reduced-capacity shows and the challenge of performing to spaced-out audiences. She explains her strict travel protocols, like wearing a mask on planes and eating by lifting it briefly for each bite. A surprising moment comes when she mentions possibly developing a cat allergy after years of having cats. The conversation shifts to her health, including glaucoma diagnosis, where she learned she has peripheral vision loss described as 'tunnel vision.' She discusses her podcast, 'Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone,' and the competitive podcasting landscape. Poundstone shares her junk food diet, a pushup routine she developed during lockdown, and anecdotes about her children auditioning for reality shows. The episode includes tangents on TV shows like 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul,' and a story about trying to book actor Michael McKeon for her podcast. It concludes with lighter topics, including a plumber guest who taught her not to flush Kleenex.

As heard by us

A rocky tech start gives way to candid vision-loss talk, lighter TV chatter, and ping pong plans.

A lost video feed and a quick scramble over headphones give Vicki's conversation with Paula Poundstone a loose, human opening. From there, the episode settles into frank territory as Poundstone describes peripheral vision loss through a Trivial Pursuits-style pie image and the…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play when tech panic, an eye-health story, and a ping pong farewell sound like your kind of company.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Game Changers With Vicki Abelson